A mother clutched her baby — pale and placid in her arms, lips blue and eyes bruised — and let out a wail that echoed through the neighborhood — "My baby! My baby!"

Darcy Zhuckkahosee dashed to the red sport utility vehicle in her driveway where Daniel Vega, her live-in boyfriend, already sat in the driver's seat. A neighbor watched as the mother placed a baby carrier in the backseat. Vega spun his wheels in the grass and sped down Division Street to the hospital.

Doctors would soon find a large crack in the front of her skull, hemorrhaging around her brain, two thumb-shaped bruises under her chin and six more on her tiny back, according to court records.

A witness later told police Vega choked the infant on the floor of the witness' home while yelling at her to shut up. Another witness told police Vega would frequently slap Lilly and laugh about it. He once squeezed her neck, dropped her on the floor and then left her alone in a television box with Cheetos, the witness said.

Doctors pronounced Lilly dead on Aug. 20, 2011, the day after Zhuckkahosee and Vega took her to the hospital.

Lilly was one of the thousands of Brown County children being cared for by someone previously reported to authorities for abuse or neglect.

More than 1,000 children are reported as possible victims every year, but their families are never investigated, according to Brown County child protection data. Social workers say that's because of rigid laws limiting intervention.

"Our system is judgmental and is based on failure," Catholic Charities director Ted Phernetton said during a summit on child abuse earlier this year.

"A lot of (service agencies) have criteria for people to meet before coming into our doors for help, but the only way people can meet that criteria sometimes is to fail. That is wrong."

The issue is one of the most critical for child protection workers as they grapple with a rising frequency of abuse and neglect. The number of cases investigated in Brown County has grown 59 percent in the past five years, reaching an all-time high in 2013, according to data from the state Department of Children and Families. The numbers are on pace to set another record this year.

Leaders of a task force responding to the trend say they're developing a system for closing the gaps, identifying at-risk families early and getting them help. It could be in place by the fall.

"The issue of what we do for kids on the front end with early intervention and prevention services — the primary benefit there is human cost, that children do not have to go through the crises and dire situations that cause our involvement in the first place," said Brown County Human Services Director Jeremy Kral.

Knowing

Vega(Photo:
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Daniel Vega drove his girlfriend Darcy Zhuckkahosee and her seriously injured infant daughter to the hospital in 2011. Three years earlier, when he was 27, authorities investigated him for beating up two children at his Green Bay home.

At 6-feet and 180 pounds, he punched a 15-year-old boy in the face and threw a 12-year-old boy into the wall, according to court records. The incident was reported to social services, which dismissed the case because Vega was not the boys' guardian, according to a report from the state Department of Children and Families. He was later convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

In August 2012, a jury convicted Vega of two counts of child abuse in Lilly's death. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by six years of extended supervision. Vega has appealed the ruling.

This is not the only time in recent years that a Brown County child was hurt or killed by someone previously reported to authorities.

In October 2012, Lisa Bach tied up her boyfriend's 12-year-old daughter with blue painters tape and forced her to stand in the corner with her hands in the air for hours through the night, according to police reports. Bach cut the tape around 3 a.m. and forced the girl to sleep on the kitchen floor without a pillow or blanket.

Bach
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Various members of the girl's family had been reported to social services for abuse and neglect at least 10 times in three counties dating back to 1997, according to a state incident report. Another investigation was opened six days before the incident.

Bach was ultimately convicted of child abuse and causing mental harm in May 2013. She was sentenced to two years prison followed by three years extended supervision.

Brown County's child abuse task force, formed in late 2012, estimates 1,300 to 1,500 area families are at risk of abusing or neglecting their kids but never get help. That estimate is based on the number of referrals social workers dismiss every year because they don't meet the legal standard to be formally investigated.

"Basically it means I have to be suicidal or I have to be at the very lowest of the lows before I can qualify for a service. That's something we heard over and over from people who work in the field," said Sarah Inman, vice president of community investment and strategic impact for the Brown County United Way.

Inman is a leader on the child abuse task force.

"Generally, the realm of human services in any community, whether it's ours or anybody else's, tends to focus on ... the fire instead of how do we prevent the fire from happening in the first place," she said.

"We want to change that."

Solutions

At the core of the plan is the creation of a network of service providers aiming to reach families more quickly and efficiently before child protection services gets involved.

“Basically it means I have to be suicidal or I have to be at the very lowest of the lows before I can qualify for a service.”

Sarah Inman, Brown County United Way

Kral described the effort as "heading off trouble at the pass."

A group of seven major organizations providing counseling, parenting support and other services has already established a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on this initiative.

They're trying to form a single in-take system. Instead of turning away someone who doesn't qualify for an organization's services, it will be able to share an individual's information to get them help.

"You're getting a broader portion of the population by identifying families in multiple agencies prior to child protection getting involved," said Nancy Fennema, Brown County director of community programs.

"The beauty of this plan is you're working with families at a point where they're easier to engage, where they're more open (to receiving help) because no report has been made against them," she said.

The National Children's Alliance, an advocacy group that reviewed the task force's entire action plan, said the initiative was on the "leading edge" of prevention efforts.

The group is on pace to begin piloting the system in the fall, Inman said.

"The golden rule has been to provide the right service in the right amount at the right time. What we're trying to do is extend the window of what is the right time and then better link people with the right services," Kral said.

—arodewal@pressgazettemedia.com and find him on Twitter @AdamGRodewald.

Action plan

Outreach to families at risk of abuse and neglect is the first part of a community action plan aiming to prevent maltreatment of children. The Brown County Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect unveiled 13 strategies in March.

Immediate strategies:

1. Large-scale outreach to at-risk families who were reported to social services for alleged child abuse or neglect but didn't meet legal requirements for an investigation.

2. Free or low-cost training for individuals and agencies that interact with at-risk families.

3. Parent discussion groups throughout the year on topics pertinent to raising safe, healthy children.

4. Surveys seeking direct feedback on developing the action plan.

Mid-term strategies:

5. Hotline for confidential advice and assistance.

6. Training to parent mentors who can help at-risk families.

7. Resource toolkit for agencies to use when linking at-risk families to services.

8. Community service teams that can work with families needing help from multiple agencies.

Long-term strategies:

9. One-stop shops where families can get services and resources for any need.

10. Rapid-response team that can have on-call professionals able to meet with families in critical crisis.

11. Flexible funding to assist with case management and resources for families and children in need of emergency help.

12. Advocate for changes in state law to improve efficiency and effectiveness of child protection.

13. Public service announcements to raise awareness.

Who to call

To report abuse or neglect, contact your local child protective services office or police at or by calling:

County | Business hours | After hours

Brown | (920) 448-6000 | (920) 448-3200

Door | (920) 746-2300 | (920) 746-2400

Kewaunee | (920) 388-3777 | (920) 388-3100

Marinette | (715) 732-7700 | (715) 732-7600

Oconto | (920) 834-7000 | (920) 834-6900

Shawano | (715) 526-4700 | (715) 526-3111

— U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families